


permanence

by textbookchoices



Category: Marvel's Avengers (Video Game), Spider-Man (Video Game 2018)
Genre: F/F, Friends With Benefits, Undercover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27449671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/textbookchoices/pseuds/textbookchoices
Summary: Natasha notices her first, the quick and silent black cat that’s sneaking into the AIM base and stealing data chips filled with confidential information, and releasing a few Inhumans along the way whenever it can. The nature of her undercover position makes it hard for Natasha to release the Inhumans herself without compromising the entire mission, and she appreciates that with a few subtle redirections, a faked warning or noise, Inhumans are escaping without Natasha herself having to lift a finger.
Relationships: Felicia Hardy/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7
Collections: Flash With Benefits





	permanence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



> Presumably takes place after the Spider-Man game and in the middle of the Avengers game, but timelines. 🤷♀️

Natasha notices her first, the quick and silent black cat that’s sneaking into the AIM base and stealing data chips filled with confidential information, and releasing a few Inhumans along the way whenever it can. The nature of her undercover position makes it hard for Natasha to release the Inhumans herself without compromising the entire mission, and she appreciates that with a few subtle redirections, a faked warning or noise, Inhumans are escaping without Natasha herself having to lift a finger.

It helps that the black cat leaves a nice little calling card—a picture of a cat drawn in permanent black marker—every time she makes a fool out of AIM.

But, Natasha notices her _first_.

Monica is hardly a fool.

AIM still notices.

Natasha carefully and quietly takes out three drones and a synthoid that are too close. The black cat is dragging her back paw, and there’s blood on the metal grate floor when Natasha catches up to her.

Long white hair tied up in a tail, and a tight black suit not terribly unlike one of Natasha’s own, though the sharp claws are certainly unique, and soft white tail and ears look rather like a result of Terrigen.

The cat-like green slit eyes were unique too.

Three beekeepers turn the corner, looking for the intruder.

Natasha shoves her against the wall, grunting as claws sink into her arms in response. The beekeepers pause, and Natasha says, “Looks like we found the intruding cat, boys.”

Then she hits a button at her waist and the beekeepers seize with electricity and fall to the ground.

She lets go of the cat.

“Well,” she says in response, “I wasn’t expecting that. Not a fan of bees?”

“I’m more fond of spiders,” Natasha says, a smile pressing at her lips—rare enough since San Francisco. Since the trials. Since Cap, and the breaking of the Avengers and the collapse of SHIELD.

“I’m a cat person myself,” the woman says—practically a purr. Her tail twirls behind her.

“Never would have guessed.”

It’s the first time they meet.

It’s far from the last.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” the cat says, sinking her claws into a riotbot.

Natasha smirks.

“You know,” Natasha says, pressing the cat’s body to the ground, carefully avoiding detection from the various riotbots, synthoids and beekeepers up above them through the metal grates covers, “I’ve been wondering how soft these are.”

She touches one soft cat ear, her hands slipping through the fur.

The cat stretches her neck out first, and then her entire body beneath Natasha’s.

Natashs rather wishes there weren’t quite so many layers between them.

The black cat nips at her bottom lip, licking in.

Well, it was only a matter of time.

She slams her against a crate, dragging her hands up Natasha’s sides, claws dangerous close to her skin.

Natasha digs her hands into the cat’s hips, dragging her closer.

The sixth time, they manage to find a bed in an out-of-business hotel in AIM occupied territory.

It’ll do.

It keeps happening, and it’s the bright moments in the dark that make five years of undercover work just the slightest bit easier. The Ant Hill and the Black Cat, Natasha thinks, keeping her face blank and her emotions still and controlled as Monica uses the Inhuman in front of her as a lab rat for a cure that doesn’t work.

It just hurts.

“You fight like it’s a dance,” the cat tells her once, dragging her claws up her bare shoulders.

Natasha’s heart clenches.

She knows when it happens, and she keeps her mouth shut.

There’s no room for things like love in this world.

Not unless you want to get hurt.

She saves Kamala and breaks her cover. She joins up with Tony and Bruce, and then the Avengers are somehow, miraculously, thanks to that girl, back to fighting again. Steve is alive, SHIELD is climbing to its feet, and AIM is going to fall.

She’s nearly out of ammo. Kamala is down, Cap is dazed and in need of help, and Tony is two seconds from joining him if he gets hit again. The clone of Masters is taunting them, and she curses when he dodges her Widow’s Bite for the second time.

Suddenly, he speeds towards her. She dodges only to be hit the back and go stumbling down. Tony fires at Masters, but it doesn’t do any good, and three War Dogs are on him, keeping him from really joining the fight.

She lifts her gun and shoots, but the bullets can’t pierce his armor well enough and skid right off.

She dodges again, twisting to kick Masters back.

She misses, but only because Masters has suddenly stumbled backward, hands clutching at his face, three long scratches deep in the white of the skull he wears.

The cat lands gracefully next to Natasha, and says, “Looks like you could use a hand, Widow.”

Natasha’s gut clenches, and she says, “Thanks.”

It doesn’t take long to beat the clone into the ground after that.

“So, who’s your friend?” Tony asks, giving the cat a once-over after he’s removed the helmet.

Natasha is about to tell him _she’s on our side, that’s all you need to know_ , when the cat stretches, tail swinging, and says, “Felicia.”

Natasha watches her as Kamala exuberantly admires the way she’d shown up and helped save the day, watches Cap give her a nod of thanks and an offer to join them back on the Chimera, saying _any friend of Natasha’s is someone we can trust_. Felicia gives her a sly look at that, and Natasha can’t help but think that the name suits her well.

“Please do,” Tony says, charm oozing off of him in that irritating way you can’t help but fall for, even if it’s just affectionate annoyance. “I’ll even share my room, out of the goodness of my heart.”

“I might have taken you up on that a few years ago, Mr. Stark," Felicia says, eyes twinkling, "but it seems like all your assets belong to Justin Hammer these days. It’s too bad. You’d be _much_ more fun to steal from.”

“Ouch,” Tony answers, lifting a hand to melodramatically clutch at his heart over the armor. “Why’d you have to bring that up, now I have to think about Hammer and his sticky fingers all over my stuff. Nat, your friend is mean.”

“Cats have claws, Tony,” Natasha says, shaking her head.

She takes a few steps closer to Felicia, close enough to run her fingers delicately up along Felicia’s arm. “But you are welcome to come back with us. Cats like to settle in sometimes, or so I hear. We could use the help.”

“I’m hardly an Avenger,” Felicia says, one eyebrow raised.

“You’re a freedom fighter.”

“I’m a thief with a grudge.”

“Sometimes,” Natasha says smoothly, “that works out to be the same thing."

“Kiss me and I’ll come home with you,” Felicia offers, suddenly, and Kamala coughs before spinning around, face red and muttering about forgetting to do something.

Natasha sighs, but she steps in and presses her mouth softly to Felicia’s.

“Anymore than that and the kid’ll explode,” she murmurs against Felicia’s lips, and feels Felicia smile.

“No promises I’ll stay. Cats need to roam, just like dancers need to dance.”

Natasha pauses; none of the others are paying them any attention anymore, not even Kamala.

“Nothing is permanent,” she says, finally.

“Best take it while you can then,” Felicia says, rubs herself up against Natasha as she walks past her. A few feet away from the quinjet, she looks back, her white cat ears quirked up. “Coming?”

Natasha shakes her head, smiling.

“Yeah. I’m coming.”

Nothing was certain, but they’d see how long this could last.


End file.
